Aps vs fcps

[Anonymous]

Not a troll, I’m doing an essay on area public school systems, and now I’m looking at NOVA. Comparing FCPS (Fairfax County Public Schools) and APS (Arlington Public Schools), they seem pretty similar, even though people say they’re very different. I don’t know anyone in either system, so I’m asking here. Thanks in advance!

I’d like to compare a few things to get a better idea of how they really stack up. First, how do the curriculum and academic offerings compare? I’m particularly interested in the AP, honors, and specialized programs like STEM or the arts. Also, how do the schools perform in terms of rankings, test scores, graduation rates, and college admissions?

Extracurricular activities and sports are another big factor. What kinds of clubs or activities are available, and are there any unique programs in either district? Teacher quality and experience matter a lot too, so I’m curious about the student-to-teacher ratios and how the teaching staff compares in terms of experience and support.

When it comes to facilities, I’m wondering how the schools’ resources like tech, libraries, and gyms compare. Diversity is also important—how do the student bodies in both districts compare in terms of race, socioeconomic background, and academic needs?

Another thing I’d like to know is how both districts prepare students for college and careers. What resources are there for college applications, internships, or job planning? I’d also like to know what each district does regarding school safety and discipline.

How involved are parents and the community in each district? Is there strong support from both? And how do special education services differ between FCPS and APS?

Finally, I’m interested in how funding and class sizes might impact the student experience. Do either district have larger class sizes or varying levels of funding that affect resources? And how would you describe the overall school culture and atmosphere? Is one more academically driven, while the other focuses more on balance?

Would love to hear some insights!

[Anonymous]

APS school facilities in general are nicer than FCPS’ schools, and roughly on par with DCPS facilities. Maybe a notch below DC but a few notches above Fairfax County. Like DCPS, APS operates and maintains swimming pools in all the high schools. APS also one large planetarium at a centrally located high school campus vs the smaller planetariums located at a handful of FCPS schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:APS school facilities in general are nicer than FCPS’ schools, and roughly on par with DCPS facilities. Maybe a notch below DC but a few notches above Fairfax County. Like DCPS, APS operates and maintains swimming pools in all the high schools. APS also one large planetarium at a centrally located high school campus vs the smaller planetariums located at a handful of FCPS schools.

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Regarding academic offerings, all three comprehensive APS high schools offer a standard curriculum of classes with robust AP course offerings. APS also has an IB magnet program located within one of the three high schools and a language immersion program located within another. For interested students, the 2-year IB program has a 2 year pre-IB component.

In contrast, FCPS has two types of comprehensive high schools, IB high schools, and AP high schools. The FCPS IB programs span all four years and include the middle years program.

Regarding other unique programs at the secondary school level, FCPS has “academies” located at certain high schools that offer unique courses not part of the standard curriculum. Instead of academies, APS has a centrally located Career Center program, which offers a wide range of classes from aviation/flight school to mechanical engineering.

APS also has H-B Woodlawn (similar to School Without Walls in DC) which is a small 6th-12th grade school that offers a lot of student freedom. The newest school program at APS is a 9-12 grade STEM focused Tech High School.

FCPS is home to the world-renowned Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. The school reserves a number of spots for APS students.

[Anonymous]

TJHSST is operated by FCPS but is considered a governors school and that may make it independent in some ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not a troll, I’m doing an essay on area public school systems, and now I’m looking at NOVA. Comparing FCPS (Fairfax County Public Schools) and APS (Arlington Public Schools), they seem pretty similar, even though people say they’re very different. I don’t know anyone in either system, so I’m asking here. Thanks in advance!

I’d like to compare a few things to get a better idea of how they really stack up. First, how do the curriculum and academic offerings compare? I’m particularly interested in the AP, honors, and specialized programs like STEM or the arts. Also, how do the schools perform in terms of rankings, test scores, graduation rates, and college admissions?

Extracurricular activities and sports are another big factor. What kinds of clubs or activities are available, and are there any unique programs in either district? Teacher quality and experience matter a lot too, so I’m curious about the student-to-teacher ratios and how the teaching staff compares in terms of experience and support.

When it comes to facilities, I’m wondering how the schools’ resources like tech, libraries, and gyms compare. Diversity is also important—how do the student bodies in both districts compare in terms of race, socioeconomic background, and academic needs?

Another thing I’d like to know is how both districts prepare students for college and careers. What resources are there for college applications, internships, or job planning? I’d also like to know what each district does regarding school safety and discipline.

How involved are parents and the community in each district? Is there strong support from both? And how do special education services differ between FCPS and APS?

Finally, I’m interested in how funding and class sizes might impact the student experience. Do either district have larger class sizes or varying levels of funding that affect resources? And how would you describe the overall school culture and atmosphere? Is one more academically driven, while the other focuses more on balance?

Would love to hear some insights!

You need to start with basic research. A lot of this information is available online. Have you even looked at the websites? I’m not to impressed with your essay when you’re using DCUM as your research.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not a troll, I’m doing an essay on area public school systems, and now I’m looking at NOVA. Comparing FCPS (Fairfax County Public Schools) and APS (Arlington Public Schools), they seem pretty similar, even though people say they’re very different. I don’t know anyone in either system, so I’m asking here. Thanks in advance!

I’d like to compare a few things to get a better idea of how they really stack up. First, how do the curriculum and academic offerings compare? I’m particularly interested in the AP, honors, and specialized programs like STEM or the arts. Also, how do the schools perform in terms of rankings, test scores, graduation rates, and college admissions?

Extracurricular activities and sports are another big factor. What kinds of clubs or activities are available, and are there any unique programs in either district? Teacher quality and experience matter a lot too, so I’m curious about the student-to-teacher ratios and how the teaching staff compares in terms of experience and support.

When it comes to facilities, I’m wondering how the schools’ resources like tech, libraries, and gyms compare. Diversity is also important—how do the student bodies in both districts compare in terms of race, socioeconomic background, and academic needs?

Another thing I’d like to know is how both districts prepare students for college and careers. What resources are there for college applications, internships, or job planning? I’d also like to know what each district does regarding school safety and discipline.

How involved are parents and the community in each district? Is there strong support from both? And how do special education services differ between FCPS and APS?

Finally, I’m interested in how funding and class sizes might impact the student experience. Do either district have larger class sizes or varying levels of funding that affect resources? And how would you describe the overall school culture and atmosphere? Is one more academically driven, while the other focuses more on balance?

Would love to hear some insights!

You need to start with basic research. A lot of this information is available online. Have you even looked at the websites? I’m not to impressed with your essay when you’re using DCUM as your research.

It’s to supplement my research. I’m looking at concrete stats, but also personal experience helps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TJHSST is operated by FCPS but is considered a governors school and that may make it independent in some ways.

Legally, TJ absolutely IS a Virginia Governor's school and the VA Dept of Education merely has a contract with FCPS to operate it. FCPS often tries to hide this and uses TJ stats to boost their overall statistics.

[Anonymous]

In Elementary, APS uses Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) which we think is more solid than FCPS which uses Benchmark instead.

We live in Fairfax County, but we wish we could afford N Arlington to get APS rarher than FCPS. We would try to win the lottery for ATS elementary if we were in APS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not a troll, I’m doing an essay on area public school systems, and now I’m looking at NOVA. Comparing FCPS (Fairfax County Public Schools) and APS (Arlington Public Schools), they seem pretty similar, even though people say they’re very different. I don’t know anyone in either system, so I’m asking here. Thanks in advance!

I’d like to compare a few things to get a better idea of how they really stack up. First, how do the curriculum and academic offerings compare? I’m particularly interested in the AP, honors, and specialized programs like STEM or the arts. Also, how do the schools perform in terms of rankings, test scores, graduation rates, and college admissions?

Extracurricular activities and sports are another big factor. What kinds of clubs or activities are available, and are there any unique programs in either district? Teacher quality and experience matter a lot too, so I’m curious about the student-to-teacher ratios and how the teaching staff compares in terms of experience and support.

When it comes to facilities, I’m wondering how the schools’ resources like tech, libraries, and gyms compare. Diversity is also important—how do the student bodies in both districts compare in terms of race, socioeconomic background, and academic needs?

Another thing I’d like to know is how both districts prepare students for college and careers. What resources are there for college applications, internships, or job planning? I’d also like to know what each district does regarding school safety and discipline.

How involved are parents and the community in each district? Is there strong support from both? And how do special education services differ between FCPS and APS?

Finally, I’m interested in how funding and class sizes might impact the student experience. Do either district have larger class sizes or varying levels of funding that affect resources? And how would you describe the overall school culture and atmosphere? Is one more academically driven, while the other focuses more on balance?

Would love to hear some insights!

You need to start with basic research. A lot of this information is available online. Have you even looked at the websites? I’m not to impressed with your essay when you’re using DCUM as your research.

It’s to supplement my research. I’m looking at concrete stats, but also personal experience helps.

Then why did you ask basic questions that you can find on the websites?

[Anonymous]

If it were me buying a house in either place I’d look at the specific neighborhood and schools rather than a comparison between these two systems. They are just too similar and the little enclave matters more than the purported systemic differences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In Elementary, APS uses Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) which we think is more solid than FCPS which uses Benchmark instead.

We live in Fairfax County, but we wish we could afford N Arlington to get APS rarher than FCPS. We would try to win the lottery for ATS elementary if we were in APS.

Ha! We are an APS family seriously considering moving to FCPS. If your kid has an IEP, FCPS may be the better system based on economy of scale. APS doesn't really provide that much and tries to get out of services that aren't the bare minimum. But it is all based on school some are better than others. But of course with the DOE blowing up who knows what the schools will look like next year.

[Anonymous]

If you're interested in specialized programs, you forgot to mention FCPS's AAP (gifted) program for elementary school and middle school.

APS has nothing comparable, AFAIK.

[Anonymous]

My kids schools in FCPS are much nicer than the Aps school where I teach. Aps did condition reports on their schools
Last year maybe so you can see those. I would say aps has more “show schools” per capita but that doesn’t mean the all the schools are nice.
I love that FCPS has mostly 6th grade in elementary annd only 7/8 in middle schools. They offer immersion programs in more languages. Their sped offerings can also be more tailored and clustered to disabilities just because there are more kids.
Aps can give more flexibility in that it is a smaller and more nimble system.

[Anonymous]

Aap (advanced academic program) is controversial in FCPS, but my kids liked it as they were rarely bored.